Crescent
by FireInferno-ColorguardGirl12
Summary: 6 YRS POST-BD: On her first day of H.S, Nessie befriends Chelsea Gray - a girl with a dark secret. When Alice can't see her future and she miraculously survives a fatal car crash, Nessie finds she has more in common with her than she thought. BOOK CANON.
1. Nessie Starts High School

**Twilight Saga: Crescent (Book 5)****  
Chapter One: "Nessie Starts High School"**

Disclaimer  
Original Twilight Characters, Locations and Events (c) Stephanie Meyer  
All other Characters, Locations, and Events (c) Fire Inferno & Leigh-Anne Kaylen

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"YOU ATE THE CLASS HAMSTER!?!?!" my mother asked incredulously.

My eyes remained glued to my feet as Uncle Emmett lay on the floor wheezing for unneeded air in between his booming laughs. My eyes quickly swept across the room, analyzing the rest of my family's reactions. Shock seemed to be the unanimous reflex.

"I was hungry," I answered timidly, my eyes continuing to burn holes into the hard mahogany floors of our Denali living room. "We had just gotten inside from recess where we played a very intense game of tag. I didn't have any blood left in my thermos, so…I improvised."

My mother and father stared wide eyed while the rest of the family (minus my uncle) bit their lips to refrain from joining Emmett.

"I don't think this is her fault," interjected Grandpa Carlisle, doing his best to keep his usually calm composure. "If my projections are correct, she should be experiencing her fastest rate of growth. I can imagine she has quite an appetite."

"You still could have called!" cried my mother, more shocked than angry.

"It was really sunny out," I said timidly, doing my best to defend myself. "I knew none of you would be able to bring me another thermos, Jake is still in Forks, and it wasn't like I could go hunting in the middle of math class."

"I know, but…the hamster?" said my mother, obviously disheartened by loss of Squeaky.

That set Uncle Emmett overboard. He shook the house as he pounded his fist against the kitchen floor, no longer able to successfully breathe. Aunt Rose rushed over to attend to her dying husband as the rest of my family lost control and broke out laughing, which slowing faded into an annoying buzzing sound.

* * *

My eyes opened to the horrible screeching of my alarm clock. With all the possible motor control I could muster, which I'll admit was not very much even by human standards, I fought a losing battle with the Snooze button. Finally I came out victorious and returned to the feathery softness of my pillow. I couldn't wait for this stupid growth spurt to finish and I could finally function without having to waste my time sleeping. Sleeping was such a drag, especially when you lived in a house with a bunch of eternal insomniacs.

Without warning, my bedroom door exploded. "Good morning sleepyhead!" sang out my perpetually chipper Aunt Alice as she danced into my room.

The shock-wave from the explosion knocked me out of bed, causing an unwelcome early morning rendezvous with my cold, hard bedroom floor. I groaned, not expecting the ADHD Princess for_ alteast _another half-hour. Not willing to surrender to the day yet, I grabbed the pillow and blanket off my bed and resumed my slumber on the floor. I heard the pitter-patter of her feet slow as she danced over to me.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor?" she asked incredulously.

"I _was_ on my bed."

"Well, it's time to get up Nessie! Today is the first day of school and we want you looking your absolute best. There will be plenty of boys to impress!"

"I don't want to impress any boys. I want to sleep!"

"Sleep-schmeep."

I groaned, or growled, I wasn't sure which: it was too early to form coherent thoughts. I forced myself off the floor and onto my feet. In my mind, a plan was formulating. I smiled to myself, thankful for times like these when Alice could not see my future.

"What's that?" I asked, staring in amazement out my door.

"What's what?" responded my aunt, violently turning her attention to where I was looking.

"That, in the hallway; it's something shiny."

Alice, obviously confused, made her way to my door and looked out into the hallway. "I don't see anything shiny out here Nes-"

With a swift kick to her butt, she flew into the hallway. I slammed the door shut and locked the bolt. I smiled. There was an angry knock on the door. "That wasn't nice Nessie!" whined Alice.

"I'm sorry," I said, "Nessie isn't here right now. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEP."

"Oh, hi Nessie. It's your Auntie Alice. Your mother wanted me to let you know that you should be ready for school in an hour. She also wanted me to remind you to go out and grab breakfast so you can make it until lunch without eating any poor defenseless class pets. We both know you need help picking out your clothes so why don't you give me a call when you're ready."

I couldn't help but laugh; something that in my five years of life my aunt was always able to get me to do. In fact, my entire family could get me to laugh. I don't think you could find a happier daughter in the entire human or vampire world.

I grabbed my hunting clothes -- and old pair of worn out jeans and one of my mom's old torn up sweaters -- and went over to the mirror to check my appearance. I never could understand why I checked my appearance anytime I left my room. Maybe it was a Cullen thing, or maybe it was just some biological need of my 15 year old body. Appeased that the animal kingdom wouldn't be abhorred by my appearance, I made my way over to my balcony and jumped down. I was just about to head out into the woods when I heard my father come up behind me.

"Good morning Nessie," he said, smiling. "Did you sleep well?"

"You're the mind reader Dad," I answered sarcastically. "Shouldn't you already know?"

"Yeah, but a father can't pass up his chance to talk to his daughter. Do you mind if I join you? I'm feeling a little hungry and I don't want to sacrifice any innocent hamsters," he said with his trademark crooked smile.

"DAD! I asked you not to look in on my dreams!"

"I know I know, but I've been worried about you. You've been so quiet lately and I wanted to make sure you were alright. You're not too nervous about this whole high school thing are you?"

_'You should know this already,' _I said to him in my mind. _'So why don't we cut to the chase. I was rudely awakened this morning and not in the best of moods.'_

My father laughed and I couldn't help but smile. There was something about him that no matter how I was feeling or no matter how mad I was at him or my mother, his laugh always made me feel 100 times better. It's always been that way, and I hoped that it always would. Together we started running towards the forest, waiting for our vampire senses to pick up the scent of our favorite game...Elk.

"Fair enough," he said with his crooked smile. "I know you're feeling nervous about being reintroduced to the whole idea of a public education, but believe me when I say that your mother and I have nothing but confidence that you will do superbly."

"Sometimes I wish that Alice _could_ see my future, just so I would have some reassurance."

"What? Is your parent's reassurance not enough that you need some from a finicky, shopaholic pixie?" he laughed.

"No, it's just...you're my parents. You _have_ to reassure me! It's your job!"

"Hmm," my father said with a pensive look on his face. "I don't remember that being part of the contract when we bought you off that street bum..."

"Dad!" I whined, not amused by his little joke.

We picked up the scent of a herd of Elk and put the conversation on hold while we allowed our instincts to take over. After we had both had our fill, we disposed of the carcasses and made our way back to our house.

"All I'm trying to say kiddo," continued my father, "is that everyone has faith that you will do just fine. It may have been a little early to put you in school when the hamster incident happened, but you're older and more mature now."

"Come on dad -- that was 2 years ago. I'm not that much older."

"But you are. While you may grow faster than a normal human, that doesn't mean that you don't mature just as fast. Your mother and I are incredibly proud of the young woman you've become."

I smiled, letting the blood flow into my face. There was something soothing about my dad's words. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was ready. I mean, for all biologically intensives purposes, I had grown almost 7 years since the hamster incident. He was right, I had grown up, and I _am_ ready for this.

"That's what I like to hear," said my dad, commenting on my thoughts as he reached around my shoulder and gave me a side hug. I smiled at him as we reached the house. "Now go take a quick shower and get ready for school. I'm giving you, your mother and Alice a ride to school today."

"Why? What about the others?" I asked.

"Today is for freshman only, and the rest of us are posing as older students. It's hard to pass Rosalie and Emmett off as freshman, so we enrolled them as juniors. Jasper and I are a little younger looking, but still not young enough to pass for freshman so we are going to enroll as sophomores."

I nodded. Made sense. Emmett was so large that he could probably pass for a _college_ junior. And Rose, well, she had the "attributes" of a senior. But why-

"You're mom wanted to make sure you got adjusted alright," he said, answering my unasked question. "Besides, she said she never really had a good high school experience in Phoenix so she wanted to start again from the beginning."

I smiled. My mom and I were so close in "age" that we were practically best friends. She still had her motherly moments, but I knew she couldn't help it. It would be nice to have her in some of my classes, but I was a little worried about --

"NESSIE!"

-- Alice.

"Glad to see you're awake and not grumpy," she said with a smile, "ready to go pick out our outfits?"

I sighed, but realizing the fruitlessness of my resistance, nodded.

"Yay! Oh my gosh you are going to look **so good**!" she said, grinning from ear to ear. I'd heard the horror stories of "Bella Barbie" from my mother, and knew firsthand the horrors that could be committed when Alice had free reign over clothing, but I wouldn't deny my pixie aunt her one desire. She just better not get used to it.

"I wouldn't hold your breath," answered my dad quietly.

"I heard that!" sang Alice. "Come on Nessie, we have some _serious_ work to do!"

Oh come on, I couldn't look that bad...could I?

* * *

Apparently I could, because the girl looking back at me in the mirror was **_not_**me. **This girl**'s hair fell softly past her shoulders, curling all the way framing her beautiful face. **This girl**'s features were soft and warm, punctuated by her slightly golden-brown eyes. **This girl **had curves that could make a man melt in a matter of seconds. **This girl** was beautiful. I was not.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," said my mom, walking into the room with a smile on her face.

I didn't really know what to say. A part of me was unwilling to accept that the girl looking back at me in the mirror was actually little old Nessie Cullen. Another part realized the fact, and relished in it. I really was beautiful, whether it be because I was half-vampire or not, this was me. I smiled.

Rose walked into my room and took one look at me. I swear I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. "Damn Nessie! When did you get boobs!?!" Every ounce of blood in my body rushed into my face. I looked back at the mirror. She was right.

"Maybe I should change shirts," said the old self-conscious Nessie.

"What!?! Why?" asked Alice. "Nessie you look _hott!_"

"Alice," interrupted my mother, "can you take Rose out into the hallway while I have a little talk with my daughter."

Alice nodded and followed Rose out of the room. My mother closed and locked the door behind them. She turned at me and gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about them," she said, laughing. "You really do look stunning though. I can't believe how fast you've grown up."

"Mom," I whined. "Dad already gave me this speech."

"Yeah, well deal with it!" she playfully ordered. "I'm the mother, and I'm entitled to have these little chats with my daughter."

"Alright, but can we atleast get this over with quickly. I don't want to be late on my first day of school."

"While I highly doubt that is your motivation behind wanting to get out of our little chat, I will make this quick. And to make it even better, you just have to listen."

I sighed, but nodded.

* * *

When my mother and I walked out of my room, I was as pale as a ghost -- and that's saying something when you live in a house of vampires. The words that came out my mother's mouth...I didn't think someone could listen to those things without spontaneously combusting. It wasn't the "Birds and the Bee's" talk, I had gotten that months ago. No, this was something way worse. This was the "What High School Boys Are Thinking" talk mixed in with the "How to Deal With Your Father When He _Hears_ What High School Boys Are Thinking" talk. Never had I pitied my father so much.

Together, with our backpacks over our shoulders, we met Alice and Dad out by his BMW Gran Turismo. Sometimes, I was convinced he loved that car more than me, even though he fervently denied it.

"Ready girls?" he asked, obviously trying to hide the fact he had heard our little chat.

All three of us nodded. Alice and I climbed in the back seat while my mother climbed up in front with my dad. Alice was jumping up and down, going a hundred miles a minute about all the classes she was taking, the cool fashions she was going to try out, and...well to be honest I stopped listening. Something rather amazing had caught my eye, and I couldn't get it out of my mind: my mom and dad were holding hands.

It's not like they haven't held hands (and much, _much _more) before, but I couldn't help but notice how lost they were in each other's eyes. I felt a twinge deep inside my chest; a deep, hidden desire to feel what they were feeling, to feel the absolute love that all the couples in my family felt. Ever since Jake was forced to leave, there has been this hole in the very core of my immortal soul that refused to close. My dad looked back at me and smiled. I blushed, realizing that he had heard everything I had just thought.

It was only a fifteen minute drive to the high school, and when we pulled into the drop off circle the intoxicating smell of human blood filled my nostrils and the unquenchable burning in my throat began to flare. Thoughts kept racing through my mind: what if I slipped? What if I couldn't control my thirst? What if I'm not ready for this? I was completely unaware that Alice and my mother had gotten out of the car and were now waiting for me.

"She'll be with you in one minute, I'm just gonna talk to her for a second," Dad told my mom. She nodded, waved at me, and told me she would wait for me inside. I, in the meantime, was still frozen in the backseat.

"I don't know if I can handle this," I said, knowing full well my dad could hear all the thoughts buzzing around in my head. "The smell...it's just too strong."

"Nessie," said my dad, taking my head softly in his hand and turning it towards him. My eyes were pouring right into his. "I _know_ you can handle this. Just try not to breathe through your nose, and if it ever gets too much, just hold your breath and run to the bathroom. Remember, this is your mom's first real high school experience as a vampire too, so try to work together and I know you two can get through this."

I nodded. He smiled. I smiled. That is how most of our problems got solved: with a crooked grin.

I got out of the car, cautiously, just making sure my instinct didn't take over and I accidentally had a freshman for breakfast.

"Come on slowpoke," yelled my mom from the front door of the school. "We don't want to be late for the pep rally!"

* * *

The three of us followed the crowd of teenagers, some as giddy as Alice about their new environment, others looking like they would rather be getting a root canal. If you were to place me on that spectrum, I would be somewhere around chronic constipation...which I got by the way -- stupid human food.

Finally the crowd led us into the gym of Coltelle High School, the only source of public education within twenty miles of the small town we had moved to in northern New York. Where Forks had been rainy, Coltelle was just cold...something that my family didn't mind. While my temperature was so abnormally high that I could wear a bikini in December and not even get the chills, the rest of my family was dead so...what did they care? It wasn't like they could get any colder.

Mom and Alice grabbed my hands as we climbed to the very top of the bleachers. The gym was abuzz with conversations ranging from class schedules, summer vacations, and "how cute Robert Pattinson was" -- whoever the heck he was.

"See anything entertaining in our future," my mom asked Alice, "or is this going to be as boring as _my_ freshman pep rally?"

Alice smiled, obviously scanning the future. "Hmm, let's see here. We have overzealous senior MC, slutty student council president, roid rage football captain and...the musical stylings of a wanna be Eminem."

"Boring as mine then."

The girl next to me laughed. I looked over at her, a little confused as to why she was listening in on our conversation. Realizing that I was looking at her, the giggle fit quickly silenced. "Sorry," she said, trying to hold in her laughter. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just picturing what your friend was describing. I'm Chelsea by the way, Chelsea Gray."

Chelsea was extraordinarily beautiful. Her brown hair fell softly to the middle of her back, accenting her rosy complexion which radiated in the lighting. It was her eyes that caught my attention though; a soft turquoise, as deep as the ocean. But like the ocean, in the depths there was darkness, a sadness that she kept hidden by her infectious smile that highlighted her snow white teeth. It was the kind of beauty you typically see in art gallery portraits.

"Renesmee," I said smiling at her. "Renesmee Masen. These are my sisters Bella McCarty and Alice Masen."

"Sisters?"

"Well Alice, my brother Edward and I are all adopted, along with Bella and her brother Emmett and Alice's boyfriend Jasper Hale and his sister Rosalie."

"Oh, I guess that...makes...sense." I could tell she was having trouble believing my story. "So does that means you and Alice are --- "

"Twins?" I finished, faking a smile. I was against the idea, but Alice loved it...as I knew she would. "Yeah, we are fraternal twins."

"Really? You guys don't really look alike."

"Fraternal twins often don't. Just look at Ashton Kutcher and his fraternal twin brother Michael. My brother Edward and I look alot more alike though."

"Oh, how old is he?"

"He's a sophomore, but he's dating Bella here."

"Really? Isn't that...a little weird? I mean, your brother dating someone in your own house?"

"Not as weird as the fact that Sherlock Holmes _never_ said 'Elementary, my dear Watson,'" I said, deflecting the conversation away from my mother and father.

"How would you know?"

"I've read all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels."

"All of them?"

"It was a rainy weekend and I was going through this phase..."

My mom and Alice snickered next to me. I threw them a glance, but they had the most angelic faces I couldn't keep myself from snorting out a little laugh. The lights suddenly dimmed and low and behold, the overzealous MC popped out of a trashcan in the middle of the gymnasium wearing florescent paint. Chelsea and I groaned together, looked at each other, and then laughed.

I think I had just found my first human friend.

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Originally Posted: January 11, 2009


	2. The Secrets of Chelsea Gray

**Twilight Saga: Crescent (Book 5)****  
Chapter Two: "The Secrets of Chelsea Gray"**

Disclaimer  
Original Twilight Characters, Locations and Events (c) Stephanie Meyer  
All other Characters, Locations, and Events (c) Fire Inferno & Leigh-Anne Kaylen

-------------------------------------------------------

If you asked me -- which I guess in some cosmic way you are -- the pep rally couldn't end quickly enough. We stood, sat, danced and jumped around for several hours while they taught us all the cheers, rules of the school, and a bunch of other boring stuff. Chelsea and I spent the majority of the time commenting on how fake the student council president was (Rosalie could put her to shame), how obvious it was that the football captain was "roid-ing it up" (Emmett could crush him, even without his vampire strength), and discussing the theories as to why white people tried to be gangsters (...yeah no one is really that gangster in my family...maybe Carlisle...maybe).

"So _Ruh-nez-meh_," she slurred out, obviously faltering over the pronunciation as we clamored down the bleachers towards the lunch room, trying to avoid being trampled by food-deprived adolescents.

"You can call me Nessie," I interrupted with a smile, "everyone else does."

Chelsea let out a relieved sigh. "So Nessie, what does your schedule look like? Maybe we have a couple classes together?"

I rummaged through my Coach bag in an attempt to find the scrap of paper my grandparents had written my schedule down on. I groaned at the complete disarray of my purse: how I managed to find anything in here was beyond me.

"Um...well, if I could find it, I'd tell you what my classes are," I said as we shuffled along with the rest of the crowd at the base of the bleachers, still digging through the endless chasm that was my bag, "but it would seem that my bag got tired of waiting for lunch and decided to eat it."

Chelsea laughed. "At least we know your bag is an herbivore. I might have to rethink our friendship if your bag wanted to eat me."

"I wouldn't be so sure," I said casually while still rummaging through it, "my brother Emmett swore he saw this bag eat his steak once."

"Really!?!" she asked incredulously.

"No!" I said, amazed that she actually believed me. She playfully slapped me on the arm and gave me her "exasperated eyes."

"You should be nice Miss Masen," she teased.

"I'm sorry, but what am I gonna do about my schedule!?!" I cried, getting slightly flustered, "I don't even know what my first class is!"

"Settle down," laughed Chelsea, "the office can print you off another one. I've already had to go back twice to get reprints. The same thing happened to me, only it was a puddle and a binder that ate mine. Want to go get another one?"

"Please."

The two of us squeezed through the gym doors as the student body headed towards the lunch room. Thankfully, the main office was in another direction so we weren't herded like sheep. We turned the corner and headed down the hallway that led to the main office when I felt a subtle buzzing in my bag. Fortunately my bag wasn't in the mood for apples because my iPhone was much easier to find than a slip of paper. I pulled it out and saw that my mom had sent me a text message.

"You have an iPhone!?! I'm _so_ jealous!" cried Chelsea as I flipped through the menus to get to my mother's text. I smiled, slightly embarrassed by my friends reaction to the proof of my family's exorbitant wealth.

"I got it for Christmas last year," I answered sheepishly.

_**Nessie -- Alice and I are heading to the lunchroom to "eat." Come find us whenever. Feel free to bring your friend. Love you! -- Mom**__  
_  
I typed out a quick affirmative response and threw the phone back into my bag. Was she trying to kill me? What was she thinking signing the message "Mom?" How would I have explained that to Chelsea!?!

"You're so lucky! I just have a cruddy TracPhone from Target! I don't even get texting!"

"It's not _that_ special," I mumbled, thankful she didn't pick up on the contents of the message, "my foster parents just like to spoil me. They've already picked out the car that they're going to get me for my 16th birthday."

"What!?! You get your own car!?!" She let out a squeal that could rival even the perkiest of Alice's. "What are they getting you?"

"Um…a Lamborghini Estoque…"

"A Lamborghini Est -- seriously!?! Those things cost…well I'm not sure what they cost, but its way more than I could ever hope to afford!" she said rather fast, "Your parents must be loaded!"

"They do alright. Just…try to keep this to yourself. I don't really want it getting around how wealthy my parents are…my family really doesn't like to draw attention to ourselves. You can imagine the types of rumors that would go around."

"Yeah, I can imagine. I remember all the horrible rumors that went around at my last school when everyone found out I was an orphan."

"You're an orphan?!?" I asked incredulously, immediately embarrassed by my incredibly rude reaction. "Sorry," I apologized, blushing.

"It's okay," she said with a smile. "My dad left shortly after I was born and my mom just passed away recently from brain cancer."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," I said, unable to imagine having to watch a loved one slowly succumb to something as devastating as cancer.

"Like I said, it's okay."

"Do you know what happened to your dad?" I asked, not wanting to accidentally linger on any unhappy memories of her mother.

"No one really knows," she said with an informative tone, remaining eerily calm. "They think he might have died a few years ago in Europe, but they are still trying to confirm it. Until then, I'm just hanging out at a local orphanage. Once they confirm I have no living relatives, I'll be placed into a foster home."

"You don't have any other family? No one you could stay with?"

She shook her head. "My mom was an only child, and her parents died in a car accident before I was even born. Nothing is really known about my father's side."

"God that must suck, not having anyone."

"Eh, you get used to it. Sometimes it's nice living on your own."

"Sometimes?"

"Everyone gets lonely every once and awhile, but you put up with it. At least I'm back at school now and have something to do during the day."

"I hear you there; summer vacation was starting to get boring." Especially when it's lasted for the past two years. "So do you know anyone else from your other schools?"

"No, my last school was a private school, and all the students went on to another fancy private school. Me, I'm not very fancy, so I decided to give public school a try."

"That's cool. My family just moved here so I don't really know anyone else either. If you didn't have any other plans, would you like to join my sisters and me for lunch?"

Her eyes brightened and a smile exploded from her face. "I'd love that. I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude..."

"Not at all, we would love to have you."

I couldn't help but smile at my double entendre. (*)

* * *

Chelsea and I managed to make our way to the main office. Behind the desk was a very grumpy looking middle-aged woman. Her hair was jet black, chopped close to her head with gray coming in at the roots. She had red-rimmed glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose with a simple silver chain that fell from behind her ears, making it so her spectacles could easily hang around her neck. It was obvious from her demeanor she didn't enjoy her job, and I had a feeling that she did _not_ like printing off new schedules for "irresponsible snotty-nosed brats," even though my nose was snot free.

"Hi," I said meekly, waiting for the woman to notice my presence.

"Can I help you?" she said through the loud 'chomps' of her gum, peering over the tops of her glasses and into my very soul. Her voice was nasally, high pitched, and highly irritating. Maybe she was grumpy because she had to listen to herself talk all day.

"Yeah, I lost my schedule; would I be able to get another copy please?" I asked as politely as possible, not wanting to set this woman off.

She sighed. "Name?"

"Renesmee Masen."

"Birth date?"

"September 10th, 1997" (**)

"Grade?"

"Nine." _Wouldn't it have been obvious? Wasn't today for freshman only?_

The secretary clicked around on her computer as the printer next to her came to life. She grabbed the ejected paper and handed it to me without even looking up. "Have a nice day," she said, running on autopilot.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing the paper and getting out of that office as fast as humanly possible. "Man, that woman was crabby with a capital K," I said once we were a safe distance from the office.

"I know what you mean," laughed Chelsea. "You should have seen her when I came back the second time. I thought she was honestly just going to ignore me and continue playing her game of solitaire...which she was losing by the way. How do you lose at computer solitaire?!?"

"I don't know, but it seems like she would be the kind of person who would be able to pull it off."

"Haha, alright Nessie," laughed Chelsea, "let's see what your schedule look like."

I handed her the sheet of paper, figuring her looking over it would be more effective than me reading it out.

**Masen, Renesmee C. -- DOB: 09/10/1997  
Sex: F -- Grade: 9  
**  
**1st -- French -- Bougie, C. -- 209  
2nd -- Geography – Harker, J. -- 232  
3rd -- Math -- Tangen, T. -- 215  
LUNCH  
4th -- H. English -- Close, D. -- 122  
5th -- Biology -- Banner, D. -- 134  
6th -- Drama -- Sadek, V. -- 107  
**  
"Nessie! We have almost _every_ class together!"

"Seriously!?!" I squealed, ripping the paper out of her hands.

"Ah!" winced Chelsea. Suddenly, the smell of blood hit my nostril and I could feel the inferno erupt in the back of my throat. I closed my eyes and swallowed; trying to douse the fire with my saliva…it obviously wasn't working because I could feel myself losing control. Then, as suddenly as the smell had arrived, it was gone. As I forced myself to come back to my senses, I looked up at Chelsea.

"You okay Ness?" she asked, a concerned look in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…don't like blood…"

"Blood?"

"Yeah, from your paper cut."

"What paper cut?"

"The…the one I just gave you. You started bleeding…"

"No I didn't…"

I looked quickly around, seeing no other source the smell of blood could have come from.

"Are you sure? I swear I smelt blood," I said without thinking.

"You…smelt blood?"

_Oh shit!_ "Oh," I said, frantically trying to formulate an excuse in my head, "you know. I could kinda…taste it. You know the iron…and stuff…" _Taste it?!? Real smooth Nessie_. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep! See!" she said, holding out her hand for my inspection. Sure enough, I couldn't see or smell any traces of the paper cut I was sure she received.

"Well, that's good," I said, hoping she wouldn't linger on my stupid, _stupid_ comment. "So, about our classes?" I said, purposely raising the pitch in my voice to show her that I'd moved on.

"Yeah! Our homeroom is the only class we don't have together," she said, apparently forgetting my previous comment, "I'm taking Italian instead of French. Nessie! This is so cool! We can have homework and study parties and even do all our projects together!"

"That's awesome!"

We both had huge, goofy grins on our faces as we quickly hugged each other.

"Nessie..."

"Yeah?"

"You're _really _warm, mind if I borrow you as a blanket?"

I stared at her, unsure of what to say. My face must have been quite the sight, because Chelsea burst out into laughter. It wasn't long until it spread to me and the two of us made our way to the lunch room arm-in-arm, laughing like fools, completely forgetting about the non-existent paper cut.

* * *

Reaching the lunch room, the two of us got in line and grabbed our lunch. I didn't grab much food, knowing I'd be forced to act as garbage disposal for my mom and aunt, but I was amazed at the amount of food Chelsea managed to pile on her tray. If this was how much she normally ate, I was flabbergasted at how she kept her figure. I scanned the busy lunchroom, looking for my mom and aunt when I saw them smiling and waving at us from a table near the window.

Chelsea and I walked over to meet them. I noticed the apprehension in her eyes, her subconscious human instincts telling her these inhumanely beautiful girls were dangerous. I gave her a quick nudge and a smile, letting her know it was okay. She gave a weak smile and sat down next to me, across the table from Mom and Alice.

"It's good to see you again," my mother said smiling. "My name's Bella and this is Alice."

"It's nice to formally meet you," said Chelsea, still visibly nervous but doing her best to hide it. "My name's Chelsea, Chelsea Gray."

"So how do you like school so far?" asked my mother, obviously sensing Chelsea's discomfort and doing her best to alleviate it.

"It's okay. I'm excited that Nessie and I have most of our classes together. It'll be nice to have at least one person I know in my classes."

"Well, now you'll have two because Nessie and I have a few classes together too, isn't that right Nessie?" my mom said with a wink.

I gave her a polite smile, but in my mind I was beating her with a stick. Ugh, why does my mom have to be so happy all the time? Oh yeah, that's right, because she gets sex every night -- stupid horny vampire parents.

"So Chelsea, I love your blouse!" squealed my aunt, trying to divert the conversation away from the angst between my mother and me.

"Thanks, it was my mom's," she answered, hiding the pain I knew she would be feeling. I threw my aunt a death glare telling her to drop it, but she obviously didn't see it and didn't pick up on the tense Chelsea used.

"Well, she has great fashion sense! I'd love to meet her!"

"ALICE!" I whisper-shouted, trying to shut her up before she dug herself even deeper.

"It's okay Nessie," said Chelsea with a beautiful smile on her face, "she didn't know." She turned to my aunt, and with a fortitude I don't think even Carlise could copy, told my aunt the story she told me before. I could see my family's unbeating hearts breaking.

"I'm so sorry Chelsea!" Alice said, trying to find the words to form an appropriate apology. I'd never seen my aunt this flustered before.

"It's okay," she said, "like I said, you didn't know. Besides, what I can see from your fashion sense, she would have loved to meet you too."

"Well, lunch is almost over. I think we should head out and get ready for a fun filled afternoon of shortened classes," said my mom, breaking the awkward silence that formed after Chelsea's response.

I looked at Chelsea and nodded, motioning for her to lead the way. As we left the lunchroom, I could hear Alice and my mother whispering to each other behind us, too low for human ears to pick up.

"I can't believe I didn't see that when I decided to ask her the question -- I feel like such an insensitive bitch."

"Alice, I'm sure she realizes it wasn't intentional. What's more interesting is the fact that somehow you were blocked. We know you can't see Nessie's future; do you think her being there could have something to do with it?"

"Maybe, but she didn't have any influence on my question or Chelsea's answer, and I have been able to see things when she's been around before. My visions are the same, except it's like she isn't there. I think it's more likely that I just can't see Chelsea's future."

"How is that possible? She doesn't smell like a shape-shifter and I doubt she's half-vampire. Do you think that she was like I was when I was human, only she blocks your class of powers?"

"I don't know, maybe. We'll just have to wait until Jasper comes to school tomorrow to see if he can feel her emotions."

As much as I hated my mom and aunt talking about my new friend as if she was their new science project, they had a very valid point: Alice _should_ have been able to see Chelsea's answer to her question. Even if I was there, she's always been able to see things that I had no impact on. Then, there is the issue with the paper cut. I of all people should know that she was bleeding, but she denied it and there was no residual damage. Even if it was small, my vampire eyes would have been able to see it.

She had a heartbeat so she couldn't be a vampire, and she had a normal body temperature so she wasn't half-vampire or a shape-shifter either. Blocking Alice's vision could be written off as a human trait, but what about the rapid healing? I glanced over at my friend, trying to figure out what secrets she could be hiding.

I mentally slapped myself; I was the last person that should be critical of any secrets she chose to keep. She doesn't appear to pose a threat, so for right now; I'm just going to enjoy having a friend.

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We hoped you enjoyed this chapter; let us know what you think by leaving a review!  
You can check out pictures of the characters, cars, and much much more via our profile!  
Also, remember to favorite and subscribe via Story/Author Alerts!  
Originally Posted: January 13th, 2009

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_* Double entendre is a figure of speech, essentially meaning that the phrase could be taken multiple ways. In this case, one meaning could be that the Cullen girls would like to have Chelsea join them for lunch. The other is that they would like to have Chelsea as their meal._

_** Nessie's actual birthday is September 10th, 2006. It would take her approximately 6 years to reach the physical maturity of a high school student, which would make this story take place in 2012. So if she wanted to pose as a 15 year old, she would have needed to be born in 1997._


	3. A Friend Among Strangers

**Twilight Saga: Crescent (Book 5)****  
Chapter Three: "A Friend Among Strangers"**

Disclaimer  
Original Twilight Characters, Locations and Events (c) Stephanie Meyer  
All other Characters, Locations, and Events (c) Fire Inferno & Leigh-Anne Kaylen

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After saying our quick goodbyes after lunch, Chelsea and I headed off to our respective homerooms. Thankfully, no one else in my family was taking French, so I had homeroom "to myself."

I was one of the first students in the class, so I found a seat in the middle of the class figuring it was a good spot; away from the workaholics in the front of the class and the slackers in the back. I pulled out Angels & Demons by Dan Brown and started reading as I waited for the rest of the class to arrive. As I read about Robert Langdon's journey through Rome, I couldn't help but think about the Volturi -- and in relation, Jake. It seemed like so long ago they forced him to leave us, stating their completely ridiculous "protecting our kind" bullshit.

I didn't understand it, but Carlisle seemed to agree with Aro. Jake, realizing that if he didn't leave Aro would most likely kill either him or I, decided it would be better if he just left. Last I heard he and his pack were down in Brazil with another shape-shifting tribe.

I was jostled out of my thoughts by the increasing flow of students into the classroom. I put my book away and started looking around the room, taking in the sights and sounds of my very first high school class. There were the very social students gathered around certain desks, talking about the latest fashions, video games, or catch of the week. In contrast there were the quiet students who sat in their desks reading, listening to music, or just staring off in thought.

The bell rang and everyone quickly jumped into their seats. The short, golden haired woman standing in front of the class began speaking as soon as the bell had rung. She had to be less than five feet tall, almost 4'8" if I were a betting woman (which I was, thanks to Uncle Emmett). She had the kindest eyes hidden behind her translucent glasses, yet an authority in her voice that demanded respect. It was obvious I was going to like her.

"Welcome class, to French One. This will be your homeroom for the first semester. My name is Madame Bougie. Now, if you would please take out a piece of paper and a pencil, I would like to see just how much French those of you in my class know."

There were loud groans and quiet arguments from the class as everyone pulled out the requested materials.

"Oh settle down," she said almost playfully. "These papers will not be graded. I simply want to find out just where this class is so I can better prepare my teaching plan. It doesn't make sense spending time teaching you things you already know. This is also an indicator if you should be placed in a higher level class. So everyone, please, I would like you to write a few sentences, in French, about what you did this summer. Use what you know, and don't feel bad if you don't write anything down. You have five minutes."

Having spent a few months in France with my mother and father, I knew some French, but not much. I had a good grasp of present tense, as well as most of the common verbs and nouns, but it was the past and future tenses that often got me confused. I decided to screw trying to bullshit my way through past tense and just wrote a paragraph like I was narrating my life. It seemed kind of ridiculous, but it didn't really matter.

"Time's up. Please make sure you have your name in the upper right-hand corner and pass your papers to the front."

I grabbed the small stack of papers that came from the young man behind me and passed them forward. Apparently, accepting sheets of paper from him was the same as accepting his wedding proposal, because I could feel his eyes undressing me.

"Alright, I am going to pass out the class syllabus. I would like you to bring it home, get the last page signed by your parents stating you went over it with them, and bring it back to me signed by Friday. I also need each of you to bring a check made out to Coltelle High School for $17.50 for your exercise workbook, also due by Friday. There are only a few minutes left in class, so you may spend the rest socializing with your classmates. Please try to keep the volume below a dull roar."

I wasn't really paying attention when the girl in front of me set the stack of syllabi on my desk. I set one aside for myself, then turned around to continue passing the stack back. When I turned to the guy behind me I had the sudden urge to throw up. He was staring at me, obviously trying to make it "sexy" but it just came off as creepy.

"Hi," he said, taking the papers, grabbing one for himself, and passing them back without even taking his eyes of me.

"Hey," I said, trying to shove as much disinterest as possible into the one little word. Obviously, it wasn't enough.

"The name's Blake, what's yours?"

"Nessie," I said, turning around, hoping he would get the hint.

"Nessie, that's a nice name." _Ding-ding-ding, we gotta dense one!_

"Thanks," I said, over my shoulder.

"So, this teacher is a total bitch right? I mean, like any of us would actually know any French? Besides, it's the first day of class; we aren't even supposed to be doing any real work."

Okay, this kid was getting on my nerves. I resisted the intense urge to fold him into a human pretzel and play horseshoes with his mangled body.

"Actually," I said, turning around and glaring at him directly in the eyes. "I happen to like this teacher. And for your information, _I_ happen to know a little French, having spent six months in France. So why don't you shut up before you say something that will make me think you are even stupider that I do now."

I turned around with a huff and went back to ignoring him. I thought I heard him mumble "bitch" in my general direction, but decided to just let it go. He wasn't worth the energy anyways. The girl next to me was staring so I gave her a quick friendly glance. She quickly turned her head away as her brown cheeks instantly flushed, hiding her face behind her long dark brown hair.

"Hi," I said as friendly as possible. "My name's Nessie."

"I heard," she said meekly. "Mine is Kadie."

"It's nice to meet you Kadie. Are you excited for this class?"

"Kinda, I really didn't have much of a choice. My parents thought that since we are so close to Canada, it would be good for me to learn _some _French. So, here I am."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be glad you chose French. It's really a wonderful language."

"Mhm," she said. It was obvious the girl was shy, and I was trying my best to not make her uncomfortable. "So, what was France like? I heard you telling that other boy you spent some time there."

I nodded. "It was so beautiful. Paris is absolutely spectacular. The Champs de Lyse was so wonderful; there were so many cool stores on it. I visited some of the largest chateaux in France: Versailles, Chinon, Louvre..."

"Wait, I thought the Louvre was a museum?"

"It is, but it was originally a fortress built by King Philippe Auguste. Later it was remodeled by King Louis IX, Louis XIV, Napoleon, and a butt load of others. Eventually, it ended up as a museum."

"Wow Nessie, you're like a walking French textbook."

I couldn't help but smile. I was pretty sure I was going to like Kadie.

"Thanks, but I don't know near as much as you think I do. I was kind of young when I went, so I don't remember much of it."

"Oh, well at least you've been out of the country," she replied solemnly. "I still haven't even made it out of the state."

"You'll get there eventually. You still have your whole life ahead of you! Besides, I hear that every two years all the French classes take a trip to France during summer break, maybe you can go on that!"

"Will you be going?"

"For sure!"

"Alright, I'll talk to my parents about it," she said smiling. "So, what's your next class Nessie?"

"Geography with Harker," I said, thankful I remembered it so I didn't have to rummage through my bag again for the paper.

"Really?!? Me too!"

"Sweet, wanna walk there together? I was gonna meet up with someone on the way there."

"Sure, that would be great!"

Kadie and I walked together down the hall and waited outside Chelsea's Italian classroom. Finally after a few minutes, all the students burst through the door, frantically trying to figure out which direction their next class was.

"I can't believe she did that!" exploded Chelsea as she came out of the room. I felt Kadie take a small step back. I couldn't blame her, if I didn't know Chelsea I would have hid as well. "First, she's five minutes late to class! _Then_ she hands out this huge packet -- " Chelsea waved what looked like a bound rough draft to a novel " -- that she wants us all to read by the end of this week. This week!?! Is she serious?!? Not only is this thing as long as the freaking _Bible_, but it's entirely in Italian! I swear, I just want to - "

"Chelsea, calm down!" I shouted playfully. "Take deep, calming breaths."

Chelsea stopped waving her arms around like a madwoman, settled down and turned to Kadie; who was cowering wide-eyed next to me.

"Oh, wow...I'm sorry. I promise I'm not normally like that," she said, her exasperated expression replaced with her friendly smile. "My name's Chelsea, it's nice to meet you -- "

"Kadie."

" -- Kadie. I take it your in French with Nessie?" Kadie nodded. "You're lucky. I might end up switching if this doesn't get better. Anyways, enough talking, more walking. We don't want to be late to geography."

I nodded in agreement. "Oh Chelsea, by the way, Kadie has geography with us."

"Really? That's cool. This should turn out to be a fun class."

Oh, she didn't even know the half of it, because in that class was --

"NESSIE!" squealed Alice as Chelsea, Kadie and I walked into the room. All three of us jumped a good seven inches in the air as my aunt flew at us. "Oh my gosh, how was your first class? Did you have fun? Hi there Chelsea, how are you? I'm really sorry about before, I hope you'll forgive me? Oh my, who is this? Hi, my name's Alice, what's yours?"

All of…that…was said in one breathe and without stopping. The three of us just stared at my aunt, more out of shock than anything else.

"Um, hi. My name is Kadie."

Three pairs of eyes suddenly fell on Kadie. Alice's lit with joy while Chelsea and I were shocked that out of the three of us, she was the first to speak up.

"It's very nice to meet you Kadie. I'm Alice, Bella's sister."

Kadie looked at me, her eyes wide as if saying "Sister?"

"Alice and I are fraternal twins," I explained, hoping she would buy it. Kadie mouthed a "wow" before turning back to Alice who looked like she had just snorted a pixie stick.

"Come on you three, I saved us some seats in the corner." She grabbed my and Chelsea's hands and pulled us down the main aisle towards the back corner. Unlike my French class where the desks were in rows all facing the front, this class had the desks split between two halves of the room facing the center creating an aisle. We sat in the corner four desks, Kadie and I in one row and Chelsea and Alice in another.

"You guys are gonna _love_ this teacher! He is _hot_!"

"Alice!" I said, choking back a laugh. "What's Jasper gonna think of you checking out other guys?"

"Once Jasper meets him, he'll understand why, and so will you!"

I started laughing until I looked up to see what I swear was the most gorgeous man I've ever seen walk into the room and sit at the desk. He had this gruff, almost Bond-ish appearance to him. I looked at Chelsea and Kadie, both who just sat, staring with mouths hanging open.

"If you girls aren't careful, you might catch some flies," laughed Alice, quietly enough so that only the four of us could hear.

"Oh…" I started.

"My…" continued Kadie.

"GOD!" gasped Chelsea.

"Excuse me miss," said a sultry British accent. We looked up to see the teacher looking at the four of us, or more accurately Chelsea. "What's your name?"

"Chelsea," she squeaked out.

"Do you have a last name Chelsea?"

"Gray. Chelsea Gray."

"Well, Miss Gray, this is a class on geography -- not religion. Are these outbursts something I should be expecting from you regularly, or do you think you'll be able to keep them to a minimum?"

Chelsea couldn't speak. All she could do is nod and continue staring.

"Thank you," he said with a smile before returning to the work on his desk.

Chelsea turned to me. "Wow" she mouthed, her eyes almost popping out of her head, her hand over her rapidly beating heart. She was right, Mr. Harker was beyond gorgeous, but there was something about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Before I could put anymore thought into it, the bell rang signaling the start of class.

"Welcome to Freshman Geography everyone," he said as he got up from his desk and started walked up and down the aisle in the middle of the class, his hands in his pockets accentuating his muscular body. "My name is Jonathan Harker, but you may call me Sir or Mr. Harker. If you call me anything else I will not hesitate to throw your sorry Yankee behind in detention. Am I understood?" he barked as he stopped at the front of the room and surveyed the class. We all just nodded our head, eyes wide and mouths open.

"Good," he said, smiling and with a much calmer demeanor. "As anyone with half a brain and eardrums can tell, I am indeed British," he continued as he began his slow stroll down the aisle. "If I hear any derogatory comments made toward my Queen or country, I will find great pleasure in assigning you a 100 page paper on the climate changes of Northern Europe…and then throw your sorry Yankee behind in detention," he said with a half-smile. "Am I understood?" he asked again, this time softer.

"Yes sir," we all managed to say in unison.

"Good," he said, smiling and quickly returning to the front of the room and began writing on the whiteboard. "There are a few things that I would like you to know about me. One is I am an avid outdoorsman. In a town like this, I do not waste good weather. If you notice that on a particularly sunny day I am not here, it is because I am most likely hiking in the mountains and you will be assigned a substitute teacher. Two, if you have not yet noticed, I do not tolerate disrespect. When I was growing up, disrespecting your elders was punishable by actions that are no longer legal in most countries. Yet, I somehow survived, so it is not impossible to behave as such," he said, having finished writing and turning around to the class.

"On the board is your reading assignment that is due tomorrow. While it may look like a lot, let's all try to keep in mind that geography textbooks contain quite a few pictures. Please read it carefully and be prepared for a small quiz. That is all I have for you today, so you may grab a textbook," he said, motioning towards a large pile of textbooks against wall underneath the whiteboard, "and a syllabus. Please have it signed and returned to me by Friday. You may do what you wish for the remainder of the period. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask."

Alice ran up to the front of the room, giving Mr. Harker a wink and a small wave before returning to her desk with books and syllabi for all four of us. I quickly jotted the assignment in my planner and found the required pages in the textbook. Mr. Harker was right when he said there were a lot of pictures. As I flipped through the pages I could hear the hushed whispers around the class. There were a group of girls who were gossiping about the size of…various "body parts" on Mr. Harker. It was true Mr. Harker was so far beyond hot that it was almost unfair, but still…he's probably married with a wife and kid.

"Nessie," said Kadie, trying to get my attention.

"Yeah," I said, closing my book and looking up at her.

"What's your next class?"

"Um…Chelsea?"

"Math, with Tangent," she said without looking up from her planner, which she was furiously writing in.

"Tangent…wasn't it Tangen or something like that?" I asked, rather confused. What kind of last name is 'Tangent'?

"Yeah, it is. But if you look on the sheet, her first name begins with a 'T', so it looks like it spells Tangent. See?" she said, holding out her schedule. Sure enough, the teacher's name was printed 'Tangen, T.'

"Oh, I have math too, but it's with Cosin…"

"No worries," said Alice, with a smile. "I have that class with our other sister Bella; you can hang out with us."

"Other…sister?"

"Yeah. Nessie, our brother Edward and I were adopted along with Bella and her older brother Emmett."

"Oh, you're adopted?" Kadie asked, turning to me. I nodded with a smile. "That's cool."

The bell rang and everyone started gathering their things.

"I'm gonna throw this book into my locker," said Alice. "Kadie, you wanna stick your book in my locker too? It's right down the hall -- you can pick it up at the end of the day."

"Sure, that would be great. My locker's on the other side of the school and this book is kinda heavy."

"Alright. Well, see you later Nessie! It was nice seeing you again Chelsea," sang Alice as she finished gathering up her things.

"You too Alice. See ya Kadie. Hopefully you have some more classes with Nessie and me."

"Mhm," she said before being pulled away by Alice who was skipping out of the room. Chelsea and I laughed as we gathered our own things and headed towards the door.

"Miss Masen," said Mr. Harker as I passed his desk, "can I speak with you for a moment." I stopped and gave Chelsea a small nod telling her I would catch up as the rest of the class finished filing out.

"Yes Mr. Harker?"

"Would you be able to do me a favor dear?" he said with a gentle smile. "Could you say hello to Carlisle for me, and tell him to give me a call," he continued, handing me a piece of paper with a phone number on it. "I haven't seen him in quite some time."

"But…how do you…" I stuttered as I stared at him, getting lost in his glimmering golden eyes, when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Incredibly beautiful…missing on sunny days…golden eyes. "Will do Mr. Harker," I said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Enjoy the rest of your afternoon Miss Cullen," he said just loud enough for only me to hear. I smiled and joined Chelsea out in the hallway as we headed to our next class. I couldn't help but shake my head in silent laughter. Out of all the geography teachers in the world, mine _would_ be a vampire.

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We hoped you enjoyed this chapter; let us know what you think by leaving a review!  
You can check out pictures of the characters, cars, and much much more via our profile!  
Also, remember to favorite and subscribe via Story/Author Alerts!  
Originally Posted: January 17, 2009


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